Tag: Jewellery design

It’s dark, it’s cold, and it’s NEARLY CHRISTMAS! Obviously, I am very excited. I’m putting my Christmas tree up this weekend, and anyone who thinks that’s too early can

Source: Tenor

I mean, as an adult who can make my own décor decisions, why WOULDN’T I have a magical, sparkly, light-up tree in my flat for nearly two months each year? The Goblin becomes The Grinch the minute 6th January hits, so I need to get my (sorry, our) tree up as early as I can to wring as much festive feeling out of it as possible.

I’ve also done all my Christmas shopping (I know, I know, I hate me too), so I figured I’d give everyone else a hand with theirs…

Introducing Tiding of Magpies’ first ever gift sets!

That’s right, I’ve put together six sparkling sets in sterling silver, gold fill and rose gold fill to suit different tastes and budgets. With a little help from my extremely patient pal, Sophie, I embarked on a mammoth photography session, and the sets are now available online!

The Classic – £38-40

My most popular hoops, with their hammered discs, are paired with dainty hollow circle necklaces for a complementary but not matchy-matchy set which adds elegance and sparkle to any outfit or style. This set is available in sterling silver, 14ct rose gold fill, and 14ct gold fill.

The Venus set – £38

One for the feminists in your life. Featuring diddy 1cm Venus symbols on both hoops and necklace, this set proves that small things can make a big impression! Plus, £1 from the sale of each set is given to Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid and £1 to Plan International UK, to support their wonderful work with women and girls across the globe. Tidy.

Moonstone magic – £50

If you really want to treat someone, the beautiful, rainbow moonstone hoop and necklace set is just the thing. Featuring glittering teardrop-shaped moonstones, this 14ct rose gold fill pieces sparkle different colours when the light hits them, giving off a mystical glow.

Angles and spangles – £38

The disc design’s more angular cousin! Sterling silver triangle hoops are paired with a sterling silver chevron necklace, echoing each other’s shapes – perfect for adding a little edge to an everyday outfit… (See what I did there?)

Which set would you be happiest to unwrap on Christmas Day? Let me know in the comments!

It’s getting dark and autumnal and I love the knitwear-boots-hot-drinks vibe but I’m less keen on the greyness, so today I’m looking at things through rose-tinted glasses – or rather, rose-quartz-tinted glasses…

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Sorry… But really, though, a bit of blush pink crystal is a nice way to brighten up a rainy day, so let’s take a look.

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What even is rose quartz?

It’s a type of oxide mineral.

It’s the second most abundant mineral in the Earth’s crust.

The name ‘quartz’ comes from the German for ‘hard’ (snigger snigger), and the ‘rose’ part is, of course, a reference to its pale pink hue.

It’s generally thought that rose quartz’s pink colour is due to trace amounts of titanium, iron, or manganese.

The colour is also photosensitive, so don’t leave your rose quartz pieces in direct sunlight for long periods of time if you want them to stay pink!

Myths, legends, and hidden meanings

From Ancient Egypt to modern crystal enthusiasts, rose quartz’s pretty pink colour and association with romance has created mystical ideas aplenty, but Ancient Greek and Roman myths are the most romantic.

The first is that rose quartz was the physical gift of love bestowed upon humans by Cupid/Eros, the Ancient Greek/Roman god of love. Alternatively, another Greek myth told that rose quartz gained its colour from the blood Aphrodite spilt trying to save her one true love, Adonis. Both lovers bled onto the stone, and this was meant to represent true love. Kinda gross, kinda romantic…

Either way, rose quartz has also been said over the years to have the properties of:

Resolving arguments

Preventing wrinkles

Bringing love into loveless situations

Signifying that a deal had been completed

Fostering compassion

Whether or not you believe in its special qualities, one thing that’s undeniable is rose quartz’s gorgeous blush pink colour, which has made it popular in designs throughout the centuries…

So, I may have mentioned that a selection of my work is currently being shown at Birmingham’s RBSA Gallery (once…or twice…a second…all summer…!), and I found it quite difficult to whittle down my designs to a cohesive collection of just 15 pieces.

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When I was choosing what to include, I couldn’t find a huge amount of advice online on how to make the collection hang together whilst showing the best Tiding of Magpies has to offer.

So, here are 5 useful things I learnt about putting together a collection from your body of work:

1) Start with your favourites

These are the pieces you love, the ones you’re proudest of, the first ones you’d show someone if they asked ‘what’s your jewellery like?’. These could be old or new designs, but they should make up around 1/3-1/2 of the collection, depending on how well they fit into the theme of the exhibition.

An exhibition is also an excuse to get creative and show off something brand new, like this beauty I designed for the exhibition, which is probably now my all-time favourite:

Coming soon to the Tiding of Magpies shop…

2) No ‘throwaway pieces’

I mean, technically speaking, none of your designs should be ‘throwaways’, so let me explain what I mean by that! It’s actually an idea I got from Project Runway (because, of course I did). When the designers show their final collections, Tim Gunn always tells them to get rid of ‘throwaway’ pieces which are just in there to fill space in the collection.

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These pieces can sometimes be a bit less interesting than the rest, or include multiple repeats of ideas that crop up later in the show. What this means in a jewellery context is, consider whether you want to include multiples of the same design in different colours, or popular designs you’re less proud of (we’ve all got them!).

3) Try and have a relatively even spread of jewellery types & price points

Although my overall body of work is largely made up of necklaces and earrings, I made sure my display collection featured three rings as well, to demonstrate the versatility of my designs and create a more pleasing and varied overall display. If your designs skew more to one type of piece, it’s a good idea to try and even up the numbers a bit in a limited-size collection.

It’s also wise to mix it up in terms of price points; galleries might allow for a higher overall price range, but it’s still worth including some pieces on the lower and middle ends of that scale to tempt casual purchasers or gift-hunters (especially at this time of year!).

4) Echo shapes or materials, but not both at once

This one’s fairly self-explanatory, but as an example, I put these two pairs of earrings into my collection:

The same overall shape signals that they’re part of the same collection, but the different metals, stones, and stone shapes maintain interest and variety.

5) Think about the theme of the exhibition

If it’s your first time exhibiting (or even if it isn’t), jewellery exhibitions usually feature multiple artists, so there will be an overall thematic link rather than the theme being that of your collection alone. You want your collection to stand out in a good way, but to also have a visible link to the theme of the exhibition.

The display Tiding of Magpies is currently part of is titled Stellar, and themed around the sparkliness of space. In response, I made sure my collection included some of my designs which feature star shapes, as well as themed stones such as moonstone (duh) & lapis lazuli (which looks like the night sky, with its blue colour and gold flecks).

Now all you have to do is avoid the inevitable over-thinking and wondering if you put the wrong pieces forward!

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What other aspects of jewellery design would you like to see posts on? Let me know in the comments…

If you follow Tiding of Magpies on Instagram you may have seen a few stories about our exciting news, but for anyone who missed it, don’t worry – I’m about to fill you in on all the details!

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This week, an exhibition called Stellar opens at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA) Gallery right here in the Jewellery Quarter, and Tiding of Magpies jewellery is part of it! The exhibition, as the name suggests, has a celestial theme and is focused on all things sparkly – perfect for Tiding of Magpies’ aesthetic… The gallery describes the exhibition like this:

Inspired by the wonder and mystery of stars and space, this display is unashamedly focused on all things bright, twinkly and sparkly. It features jewellery in precious materials, ceramics with lustrous glazes, and textiles in plush fabrics. Every piece is hand-made by a designer-maker[…]

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The gallery itself is a local gem, which overlooks St Paul’s Square in the heart of the Jewellery Quarter, and hosts regularly-changing exhibitions, events & workshops. Not to mention that entry to the exhibitions is free! There are 3 floors of gorgeous artwork to explore, so make sure you check those out while you’re visiting Stellar…

Source: https://rbsagallery.blog/visit/

It was hard to whittle my 75-ish designs down to just 15 for the display, but I focused on colours and shapes that fitted best with the theme of the exhibition. Moonstones, star shapes, and glittering, deep blue stones such as sapphire, iolite and lapis lazuli take centre stage.

Tiding of Magpies’ fifteen-piece exhibition collection includes new designs, old favourites, and a whole host of colours and stones. Naturally, moonstone and lapis lazuli make several appearances, as well as amethyst, garnet and sapphire, and a range of metal finishes.

Photo (c) Tiding of Magpies

The exhibition runs until 2nd February 2019, so you’ve got plenty of time to get down to the gallery, check out Stellar, and maybe do a little Christmas shopping or treat yourself to some sparkles! Plus, all gallery purchases come with an exclusive discount code which can be used at the Tiding of Magpies online store until August 2019.

As the title suggests, The Goblin and I popped up to Cannock Chase yesterday for a bit of fresh air and greenery. Despite not being hot weather types and nearly melting into a puddle of sunscreen and regret, we managed to have a lovely walk, look at some trees, and scoff down a picnic.

The beautiful, saturated colours of the sky and trees and flowers gave me all sorts of design inspiration, especially the pink Veronicas, which are the reason I’m seriously thinking about adding some tourmaline to my next collection. I need more bright pink in my life!

It did make me realise quite how many of my pieces are inspired by the shapes and colours of nature, which at first glance seems a bit counterintuitive from a designer based in Birmingham city centre. I’m not saying the city doesn’t inspire me too, because it definitely does, but nature makes designs spring to mind the fastest. What can I say, you can take the girl out of the countryside…

Fawning over florals

You can’t beat a good floral, so when I did my first capsule collection last Mothers’ Day, I came up with this little geranium pendant. I mean, when better to wear florals than March…?

I absolutely love texture, and the grooves of tree bark are a jeweller’s dream when recreated on shining silver. One of my most popular designs, my tree bark thumb ring, was actually dreamt up after a trip to The Goblin’s homeland of rural mid-Wales, which is probably one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. I’ve also designed two other bark-based rings, a slim, simple band, and a wavy, lightning-strike design.

One of the best things about running this business is that I get to create beautiful things that become a treasured part of my customers’ lives, and I get to do that by stretching my design wings. I recently undertook a commission which was heartfelt, exciting and challenging, and I thought I’d share it with you…

My client was Suzanne*, a lovely woman who owned a treasured but somewhat battered piece of Whitby jet which had been passed down to her by her grandmother. The piece of jet had an extra-special meaning to Suzanne, because her grandma played a big role in raising her, and she wanted it turned into a wearable piece of jewellery so she could carry the gift with her everyday. She was also concerned about the potential to develop arthritis in the future, so she wanted the ring to be adjustable.

As well as being delighted that Suzanne had entrusted this piece of jet with such sentimental meaning to me, I will admit I was a little nervous! Jet is notoriously difficult to set, being quite a flaky and fragile stone. However, the challenge was exciting, and I explored a number of different design options to set this stone into a silver ring, since, after some discussions with Suzanne, it became clear that she favoured rings over other types of jewellery.

I knew as soon as I saw the jet that I wanted to make a design feature of the missing corner rather than crafting a setting to hide it. After all, this jet is a piece of Suzanne’s life story, and life has its imperfections as well. I wanted to embrace the history of the 150-year-old stone, and Suzanne was also excited about this idea, so it was full-steam ahead! We decided to go with the double-band design, and Suzanne absolutely loved it.

After receiving the ring, she sent me a lovely email telling me that she plans to pass the jet down to her own daughter in the future – I could not have been happier or more touched.

Side view – this is how I achieved the adjustable ring. It can be altered by gently squeezing the sides, and the rounded ends allow a comfortable fit.

I also love the way the design turned out, and the whole process was one of the best commissions I’ve ever had. Sometimes I can’t believe I actually get to do this job!

*Not her real name; I like to maintain my clients’ privacy unless they wish to be a part of blog posts etc.

I know, I know, it’s been a while since I posted, and there are a few good reasons for that, mostly:

BUT despite that, there have been a few things in the works, namely…

1) I’ve been refreshing product photography, which is why some of my most popular designs, like my charm hoops, have been down for a little bit. Hoops will be coming back on Friday 14 April, just in time for you to treat yourself after a hard week at work…

With the help of my ever-patient friends and family as models, photographers, and all-round ‘shall-I-just-hold-this-leaf-for-you’ grafters, I’ve had fun shoots ranging from standing in the Yorkshire rain in January to gathering all the items from my sister’s sickeningly Instagrammable flat:

I hope you’ll agree that the results were worth the effort, though!

Available via the shop tab above

The necklace at the bottom there is a new design which will be available from next Thursday 19 April.

2) I’ve got an exciting collaboration coming up with the talented and very lovely Alia-Michelle of Makeup by Alia-Michelle, where I’ve lent some Tiding of Magpies jewellery to style the models for two beauty shoots. It’s the closest I’ve ever been to fulfilling my fantasy of styling Next Top Model photoshoots… Seriously though, I absolutely loved picking out the right pieces for the theme of each shoot, and one shoot will even feature one of two new designs which will be available to purchase from Thursday 19 April. Watch this space for the photos!

Just a bit of Alia’s fab work…

3) My final news item is a very special one. I’m always delighted when my customers tell me the story behind the item they’ve purchased or commissioned, but last week I had a really lovely message from a customer who purchased my silver love knot ring…

She recently proposed to her partner, but while they’re waiting on a bespoke engagement ring, she ordered my little love knot ring as a stand-in to symbolise their plans to tie the knot – how ridiculously cute is that? It made my week – and a nice happy ending to this quick update post!